A company the size and scale of Samsung does not likely enjoy being a runner-up, even in a market as small as smartwatches. That makes Digital Spy’s scoop all the more interesting: the upcoming Gear S2 smartwatch — the round one with the rotating control bezel — will work with iOS phones.
For the last year or so, Samsung has turned its back on Android Wear, favoring the open-source Tizen operating system in an attempt to avoid commoditization. Furthermore, most of Samsung’s smartwatches would work with only a small subset of Samsung’s own phones. It’s no wonder that the company is running a distant fifth in smartwatch shipments, behind Apple, Fitbit, Xiaomi, and Garmin, with flat unit sales and a deteriorating market share.
With the Gear S2, it’s looking like Samsung has had enough. Previous reports had said that the watch would work with all up-to-date Android phones; with the addition of iOS support, the S2 would become one of the few high-end smartwatches to work with essentially any phone.